


Every Moment Red Letter

by Im_The_Doctor (Bofur1)



Category: Transformers Generation One
Genre: Abuse of Authority, Confusion, Cuddling & Snuggling, Dancing and Singing, Doubt, Drama & Romance, Drunken Shenanigans, Enemies to Friends, Explanations, F/M, Firefighters, Friendship/Love, Hero Worship, Heroism, Intruding, Late Night Conversations, Late at Night, Lectures, Male Friendship, Multi, News Media, Over the Top, Overprotectiveness, Partying, Possessive Behavior, Pre-Earth Transformers, Private Investigators, Prying, Research, Seriousness, Shovel Talk, Stalking, Stargazing, Tenderness, Threats of Violence, Twisted and Fluffy Feelings, Violation, serious conversations
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-04
Updated: 2015-10-04
Packaged: 2018-04-24 17:51:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,006
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4929346
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bofur1/pseuds/Im_The_Doctor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Firestar was alone, unarmed, and had let her guard down. If only—Ah, but it was way too late for that. It was time to face an entirely new kind of fire, <em>Red<em> hot and apparently intent on scalding her if she got too close.</em></em></p>
            </blockquote>





	Every Moment Red Letter

“Excuse me.”

As polite as the words sounded, Firestar could tell as she looked up that there wasn’t a request in them. Hovering over her she found the friend Inferno had briefly introduced her to at the beginning of the party. What was his name? Crimson—no, Red. Inferno had simply called him ‘Red’.

“Oh, hi again,” Firestar greeted with a smile, slightly puzzled when he responded with a very bland attempt at lifting the corners of his lips before tapping a few of his fingers against her upper arm as though to pull her to her feet.

“If it’s not too much trouble, I’d like to see you,” he declared over the booming music and Powerglide and Moonracer’s attempts at singing a duet, spurred on by the laughter of their companions. Firestar glanced in their direction. Inferno was in the midst of rescuing Ironhide, who sat next to him and was trying not to choke on the energon he was swallowing.

“I have a bit of time,” she agreed, setting aside her energon cube and rising to her feet.

“Thank you.” It was hard to hear him when his vocals lowered, but Firestar almost believed he was speaking through clenched teeth. She dismissed that idea almost immediately and followed him outside where it was quieter.

It was a nice night; the stars were sharply clear in the sky and the air was cool, cleansing to the sensory net, Firestar thought contentedly as the door slid closed behind her and Red. The feeling didn’t last long, however, as she abruptly became aware of Red’s EM field, radiating something unpleasant. When she glanced questioningly at him, his face was only slightly better: he wore no expression, but his optics were…calculating.

“Are you alright?” Firestar asked cautiously.

“Using my status as a surveillance mech, I’ve accessed the résumé which took you through the Rescue Academy,” Red ignored her question in favor of stating this fact.

Firestar’s optics grew wide. What on Cybertron could Inferno’s friend want with that? Momentarily Red looked rather overconfident and then he remembered himself, returning to solemnity.

“I also performed some research as to your personal history: where you come from, why you left, _who_ you left, your next known location and how you traveled there.”

Firestar couldn’t help but gape at him, feeling both stunned at his attention to detail and violated by his audacity. “Why would you do that?” she managed at last.

Again her inquiry was promptly dismissed. “When that failed to appease me, I stooped to the level of reading many of the news files regarding Inferno’s firefighting team. You’re mentioned quite often.”

Firestar laughed, a little incredulous as she realized that she was entirely on the defensive in this conversation. “That’s right; I’m on his team.”

Shifting so he could face her more directly, he lifted an eyebrow and went on, “The files say entirely good things about you—wonderful, _heroic_ things, if I’m to be honest. You’ve saved many Cybertronians who were thought to be lost. You’ve put lives back together.”

“So has Inferno,” Firestar reminded him, trying to hide how taken aback she was when his EM field suddenly flared and his optics narrowed.

“I’m fully aware,” he confirmed, his tone turning marginally acidic, “which is why I’d like to ensure that he won’t have his own life torn apart in the first place.”

Firestar’s mouth opened but for a few kliks she couldn’t think of what to say. Red took advantage of that time, moving in closer. He was some inches shorter than her, but it did almost nothing to detract from the gravity of his next words:

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but Inferno is entirely captivated with you. He tends to throw his entire self into delicate situations; this… _association_ …I find is no different.” His optics somehow managed to ignite and darken at once as he said firmly, “I’d like to _caution_ you: if you think you can’t give him the same level of dedication, extract yourself now. Because if this association continues and he’s allowed to be victimized, if he reaches the point where he won’t try to stop me, _I_ will extract you.”

If someone had thought to ask, Firestar was willing to admit she had absolutely no idea how to respond to that. Red’s field gradually cooled and he stepped out of her personal space.

“But if you treat my friend with respect, we have nothing to be concerned about,” he concluded. “I do hope—I believe—that you have promise.”

Firestar blinked in disbelief as he genuinely smiled at her, barely looking like the same mech who had, _literally_ just a nanoklik ago, been threatening her. She didn’t have time to consider this anomaly, as the door squeaked open and Inferno himself appeared.

“Fir’st, Red, you’re missin’ a show! Ironhide an’ Powerglide are tryin’ to duet the Residency Hall Drinkin’ Song!”

“Coming, Inferno!” Red called cheerfully, striding past him toward the lights of the party. Firestar hesitated and Inferno came out to meet her, slipping his arms around her waist and pulling her chassis against his.

“What were you two doin’ out here?” he questioned softly, nuzzling their chamfrons together.

Firestar shuttered her optics briefly, enjoying the tender ministrations. “He was giving me advice.”

“Oh? Tellin’ you how t’tighten up security at your place?”

That sounded like an inside joke to which she hadn’t yet been clued in, Firestar decided. “Advice on how to enter a delicate situation, actually.”

Inferno laughed at that, pulling back enough to shake his helm. “Yeh, Red’s seen me leap before I look more often than I look before I leap—although, he’s always been the overly cautious sort. Likes to know every angle of a situation before he can accept it happenin’.” A short pause. “He’s a good friend. Probably my best.”

Firestar noted the warmth in her sweetspark’s vocals, filing it away with the rest of the information she was now collecting on this new acquaintance. “I don’t doubt it.”


End file.
